By Josephine Sollitto / The Jambar
This summer, Youngstown State University welcomed a new student organization, RE:PLAY Dance Collective. This K-pop-centered organization features semesterly showcases, behind the scenes opportunities and a welcoming student community.
Camille Collins, junior multimedia communications major and RE:PLAY founder and president, said her inspiration for the collective developed freshman year, as she desired to create a place of community.
“I had this idea since freshman year and I wanted to [create] that sense of community, with it being a K-pop centered club,” Collins said.
Francesca Rubesa, senior marketing and communications major and public relations and community engagement lead for RE:PLAY, said the collective is an inclusive space offering something for everyone.
“This is a dance collective which involves more than just dancing. Anyone who’s interested in doing production, behind the scenes … costume design, makeup, this is the place for them,” Rubesa said. “We really want this to just be a community where anybody can go and feel welcome.”
Collins said in the time of preparing for the showcase, meetings consist of performance rehearsal, dance workshops and community events.
“[RE:PLAY has] a goal of having performances at the end of each semester, and then between practicing for showcases,” Collins said. “We want to also hold campus community events like parties or dance workshops.”
Collins said showcases will be held semesterly with the tentative date two weeks before finals. These showcases will consist of all the repertoire rehearsed through the semester.
“Our projected date for the showcase is two weeks before finals week. We aren’t completely finalized because of participation reasons … but we are truly aiming to have the showcase,” Collins said. “However, if we don’t have the showcase during that time, we will have something else to fill that spot.”
Collins said the collective is currently planning a welcoming party for new members before beginning this semester’s repertoire.
“We are in talks of having a little party just to get recruitment started and … to have a bit of a fun thing, rather than us just going straight into dance” Collins said.
The collective is open to all skill levels.
“[RE:PLAY] is completely entry-level, and you don’t even have to dance to join. If you just want to have a place to hang out and have people to talk to or just have a community-based feeling, RE:PLAY is for you,” Collins said.
Weekly meetings are held Tuesdays in Cushwa Hall and are subject to change for member availability.
Rubesa said while there is a K-pop focus, the group is open to all styles for people to connect with one another.
“I think music and dance and performance is something that anybody from everywhere can kind of connect to,” Rubesa said. “I think the greatest thing about K-pop specifically is how brand the performances [are] between the choreography, the set, even the camera angles… The nice thing about replay, though, is that we are interested in all genres, all styles of dance [and] music.”
Those interested in joining or learning more about RE:PLAY can contact Collins by email at cjcollins03@student.ysu.edu.